Around
by creativekat
Summary: What happened to the people who came after the Battle Front's departure?
1. Memories

Kana: 1994

When I was ten was the only time I felt as if I was worth something. My grades were horrible, but for once that didn't matter. All that mattered was the fact that I could make that little boy smile.

I met him at the park, he looked to be five or so. To be honest I was never really sure what his true gender was because he looked as if he could be either, but he said he was a boy so that's all that mattered to me. Some boys, maybe eight or so, were picking on him. They called him gay and a sissy for being so girlish. He kept screaming at them, saying they were wrong, and to be honest I think they were right. Not many people are brave enough to stand up against their bullies. Anyways I was able to get rid of them by chasing them and screaming. Everyone in that city was afraid of me, they knew I would bite.

A few weeks later the boy's mother asked me a favor. Apparently her little Al needed a babysitter. When she asked me my name, I lied, told her I was Mary. That was the best time of my life, getting to see that kid smile every day.

Alex: 1994

My babysitter was awesome. She sang with me. She let me play with her makeup and when I asked if it was a girls' toy she would tell me people think it is but it shouldn't matter if I have fun with it. She helped me take baths, although the rule was that if she helped I had to wear a swimsuit. I didn't understand why until a few years later.

I was very sad when Mary moved away. Mom said she had been adopted by a new family, but I didn't want her to go. She was my best friend. I must have cried for a week straight. It would be a while before I found a friend again.

Misha: 1995

My first girlfriend was not the type of girlfriend one would want to have. If fact, I don't think she could even be considered a girlfriend. We never went on any dates, I can't even remember hugging her. Oh, but she was beautiful. She had the most gorgeous long blond hair and deep dark blue eyes. She had me do her homework for her and in return she would always give me a smile and say "thank you love." I think my twin, Kana, was jealous of her. She would tell me the girl was taking advantage of me and would always glare at her. I didn't believe my sister then, but when I got older I realized she was right.

Misha: 1999

I discovered that our adoptive father had been abusing my sister. He whips her for every bad grade she brings home, and hits her for talking back to him. I hate it. I wish he would keep his hands off of her.

Alex: 2000

My mother hates me because I am not the boy she had wanted. Genetically speaking I am male. There is nothing wrong with my genes. I just, did not receive the right nutrients in the womb so I did not develop with the right amount of hormones. I am a male, just as much as any other male, but my voice is not deepening, my shoulders are not getting any broader. I have a hormone imbalance, and my mother hates me for it.

I try to make her love me in other ways. I have friends, some girls and some boys. I bring them home to play video games. I have the highest grade in my class. I even made the basketball team for her. If it were up to me I would have spent that time programming my own games. Still, basketball is fun, and I'm surprisingly good at it.

She still tells me there is something wrong with me. She brought me to the doctor, told him I needed shots to fix my 'problem', he agreed and wrote a prescription to fix me.

Kana: 2000

I spend my days alone. The only one who wants me is my brother, but he is always busy studying. So I go out to the woods, climb the trees. I stay out of the way of anyone who sees me as unworthy due to my inability to do anything useful.

Once I found an abandoned house. It was the most exciting find in a while. The ceiling was collapsing in some places and there were many cobwebs, but it was fun to explore. Inside I found a kitten, starving but alive. I decided to save him. I brought him home and kept him hidden in my room as my brother and I nursed him back to health.

Misha: 2000

The screaming was louder than ever before. Our step father had discovered the kitten and was very unpleased by it. I could hear every smack even though I was rooms away. I had enough of this, it had to end. I quietly stepped into the kitchen, pulled the phone off its spot on the wall and called the police. Once they were on the way I ran into the other room and stood between my sister and that man.

He hit me many times but I did not budge. I would not as long as she was in danger. After I was nearly passing out and I could hear the police busting in he pulled a knife and stabbed me in the heart. That was the last I would see of anything.

Kana: 2001

I saw my brother die in front of me. I couldn't do much of anything after that. I just sat and let life happen around me, I didn't want to be a part of it. It should have been me who died, not him. They were transferring me to a mental asylum in another state, a larger one, but the plane was hijacked. When it crashed there was lots of fire, then, nothing.

Alex: 2004

My mother had taken to yelling at me. She kept telling me I needed to toughen up, be more of a man. Down in my basement bedroom I pulled out a week's amount of my hormone shots and injected them all at once. More Testosterone means more of a man right? By was I wrong. The overdose had caused a seizure. My head hit my desk as I fell, knocking me out. I never woke up.


	2. Shadows

Misha

Above me was a dim, probably dusk, sky. I had absolutely no clue where I was. All I knew was that my name is Misha. There was a scream over to my left. Apparently I was on a flat concrete roof, and on the ground below was a horrifying scene. The girl who screamed was holding a limp male who's body faded and dissolved into nothing. She was surrounded by these strange, humanoid shaped shadows. One shadow sliced its arm right through her waist but it did not cut as one would logically expect, it phased through her. Her body went limp to the ground and she faded and disappeared just as the boy had.

"Saki!" a girl behind me creamed. I turned around to see her crying form in the doorway, which must lead inside the building. She then stopped up to me and pulled me to my feet by the front of my shirt. "Why the hell did you not do anything!?" She was mad, but why at me?

"I, I don't know what's going on" I admitted.

The blond sighed, "Another newbie. Ok, let me break this to you, you are dead and this is the afterlife. Got that? If those things touch you your soul is destroyed, got that? Now are you going to be a panzy or are you going to help me fight them?"

Who is this girl? "I don't have much of a choice do I?" She shook her head, "Ok, fine I'll go along." after all I had just seen what happens when those things touch you

""Ok, good, do you have any programming skills?"

"I, don't know"

"She rolled her eyes "come with me then." she grabbed my arm and practically dragged me down the stairs into the building. It was a school building but to be honest I had no clue how I knew what school is. She dragged me through eerily empty halls into a computer room where she opened a latch and pushed me down. I landed painfully on my face on the wood below and she, annoyingly, landed on her feet next to me. She pulled me back up to my feet "What's your name anyways?"

""Misha, yours?"

"I'm Hellan" she pulled me into another computer room. This room had lots of computers stacked on top of one another, all appearing to be connected to each other. Some had broken screens. "We've been replacing the screens but the computers themselves are fine. There is this thing called NPC that they support. I don't know how long they have been offline, but I want them back, it would provide some cover from those shadow guys I believe, and if not that at least someone to talk to." She pushed me towards the large command console.

To be honest it was pretty straight forward. It only took me about ten minutes to do as she asked me. She then grabbed my arm once again and dragged me upstairs to the school hallways which were now filled with students. "Look at them, beautiful NPCs"

""So you're telling me that a computer system controls this world"

"In a way, you can also assign yourself guard skills with any computer" She dragged me into a dorm room I could only assume was hers and turned on a desktop. She typed and clicked for a few moments before saying "there, now you have all the skills I have."

"Over what felt like a year Hellan and I fought the shadow things together. She taught me how to fight, which took me a while to pick up, and I tougher her the programming I had no clue how I knew. She became my best friend, and my only friend.

One day we got in over our heads and found ourselves in the dark baseball field surrounded by the shadows. There were too many to fight. That's when out of the blue Hellan stabbed me in the chest. I fell to the ground and passed out. When I woke Hellan was gone, and so were the shadows.

That's how I learned that if you appear dead the shadows will not attack.


	3. What Is This Place

Alex

I woke up to find myself on the concrete. It was very cold, and dark. In the distance I could hear gunshots. "Finally awake?" I sat up to see a small girl with blue braids reloading a gun. She had a bag, and from it she pulled a duel set of pistols, just like the ones she was reloading. She tossed them over to me. "You'll need these"

"Wh-what?" What the hell was going on? Wasn't I just in my room? What had I been doing? Then it hit me, the amount of shots I had taken. It must have messed up my brain, so I thought, to cause such a strange dream like this one. I figured I would have to go along with it. "What do I do?"

The blue haired girl grinned, "We are making our way underground, to find the control room for the NPCs. The others have the angel distracted so it is just me and you against the shadows."

"Shadows?"

She raised one of her guns and shot just over my shoulder. I would have been more freaked out if I didn't think this was a dream, but I could still feel my heart pound. I looked to where she shot and saw a fading shadow, guess it should have been obvious. "Don't let them touch you, if they do you're dead." She informed me. Then she grabbed my arm and pulled me onto my feet, "follow me"

She lead me down into an underground hallway. There were many of these shadow things she had told me about. She shot a fair amount down before she started yelling at me to shoot at them as well. She was a bit intimidating about it so I did as she said. Eventually we came to a room filled with a ridiculous amount of computers. It was quite amazing really. I would have loved to stay there for quite some time. The blue haired girl went over to the keyboard and began typing something. I don't know what because I was too distracted in awe by the computer room.

There was a loud slam and I turned to see a red headed boy standing in the doorway that he had forced open. "Not you!" I heard the girl shout behind me as he raised a machine gun and fired it at my chest. The world went black again.

When I woke up I was in a principals office, with two girls looking down at me. One was the blue haired from earlier, the other a blond I did not recognize. I got a very sickening feeling in my stomach. When one dies in a dream they are supposed to wake up in the real world, so "This isn't a dream, is it?"

The blue haired one turned away mumbling "Idiot," but the blond gave me a sympathetic look.

"This is a purgatory of sorts. Everyone here died in their teen years with some sort of regret, this is like a second chance for us. Unfortunately this place is not so good either. The angel, the boy who shot you, wants us to be obliterated. This was explained to us by Yurri's journals, a girl who must have been obliterated a long time ago." She brushed her short hair behind her ear. "My name is Tami, by the way, and the rude one over there is Ren" She smiled "What's your name?"

"Alex" I answered slowly. I'm dead, did I kill myself? Mom must be relieved, to no longer have the disappointment I am around. "Hey, wait, how did I get here? I was shot."

"Oh" Rem turned back "We both were, but in this world we don't die permanently. The angel was gone by the time I woke up and you were still out, so I brought you here after turning the security system on." Security system? I decided to let that slide.

Rem sat down on the arm of the couch I was laying on. "I noticed you seemed at awe in the computer room. Are you good with computers?"

"Not really, but they are fun." I admitted

"Do you think you could learn?" I nodded. She smiled "Good, you're the closets thing to a computer person we have." It was strange to see her smile, she seemed to be someone who is always mad until now.

* * *

A few months later I had a decent grasp on how the programming worked on the computers here. I especially enjoyed looking at the codes for the NPCs. That was a fun experience actually, learning that not everyone here is real. Of the real people some left and new ones came, but Ren and Tami were the only two who ever talked to me.

"Hey Alex, I found something for you!" A blond boy called as he entered the computer room that they had made me spend time in. I wasn't aloud to be anywhere else actually, apparently they had too many NPCs for me to have a dorm room. The boy's voice sounded familiar, but I was too tired to put it together, so I didn't recognize him in the slightest.

I turned to look at the newcomer with a raised eyebrow. He was holding an old looking laptop "Who are you?"

He laughed "That's not the usual question, It's me Tami, don't you recognize me?"

I yawned "I guess, but aren't you a girl? why are you wearing the male's uniform?"

He laughed again "Actually, I'm hermaphrodite, if you must know. Sometimes I feel more male and other times more female. Does it bother you?" He looked worried.

I shook my head. "No, I get it" I yawned again.

"You look tired." he giggled, "come with me" he held out his hand. I took it. He lead me over to the dorm rooms and opened the door that was to his room. His girls' uniform was hanging in the closet at the end of the room. "You should lay down" he suggested. I nodded and crawled into the bed. It was about ten minutes later and I was half asleep when I felt him crawl into the bed with me and pull the covers over us. Normally I would have protested, but I was too tired to this time and soon I was out cold.


	4. Alone

Kana

The heat was so intense. It surrounded me completely, became me. It was all so fast, the heat hit my face and then everything went black. Next thing I knew I was laying on the ground, concrete. It was cold. I didn't want to get up, it felt nice. Especially on my cheeks. I must have laid there for a good hour or two before listing my head and opening my eyes. I was in a tunnel of some sort, with very little light. I was alone, but somehow that did not bother me, I liked it like that.

I slowly lifted myself to my feet before noticing that I was not wearing the same clothes I had before. It was a school uniform, a brown top and a black skirt. Disgusting really, too bland. Still, there was nothing I could do about it. I had no memory of getting here and I knew there was no way I could have survived the crash. There was only one explanation then. "This must be some sort of purgatory then" I said out loud to no one. As soon as I took a step a giant stone ball dropped from the ceiling above me.

I could feel my eyebrow twitch for a second. "You have got to be kidding me..." I muttered before screaming at the top of my lungs and diving for the ground at the edge. I trembled as the ball rolled by me. I just barley fit in the gap the curve of the ball made from the corner of the wall and floor. I sighed in relief, although to be honest I wasn't sure if dying here was a bad thing, but the pain it must cause I was not fond of. I pushed myself back up to my feet and headed in the direction that the ball had come from. I paused to look at the hole it had caused.

After some wondering I came across some strange, shadowlike figures. In the middle of them was a figure I could not make out. "Do you need help!?" I shouted. Maybe for once I could be useful, or so I thought. The boy rolled under the shadows as the reached for him and dashed at me. My eyes widened, I knew that face. It was my brother, but why was he attacking me? I was to shocked to move and before I could react I sharp pain went through my chest. Misha had stabbed me with a blade he had attached to his wrist. I sputtered up some blood before everything went black again. It was settled, dying her is not good, but why did my brother kill me?

When I woke I was in a room filled with the light of computer screens. In fact, the room was almost entirely computers. I chose not to move. The ground was hard and cold, just what I deserved.

"She's awake" I woman's voice said from across the room.

"Leave her alone, she doesn't look like she wants to be bothered just yet." This was a voice I couldn't place. It could have been either male or female.

"She'll be like that forever if you leave her alone" This voice was a high pitched male's voice.

Suddenly a girl with blue braids was pulling me up to my feet "Hey, wait!" I caught a glimpse of my chest. Blood surrounded a tear where my brother had stabbed me. It took everything I had not to cry. Why had he betrayed me?

"Hey, are you alright" This was the male's voice, but it was coming from a blond female. This confused me. I turned away.

"I'm fine, just leave me alone" I was being a bit rude, but I just wanted to be left alone.

"Aw, come on, no thank you for saving you from the angel?" The blue haired girl said, forcing me to face her again.

This comment did intrigue me "What angel? All I saw was my brother and a bunch of shadows."

Suddenly I was shot. Another betrayal, but this one didn't hurt as much. As I fell to the ground and my vision blurred I saw a blond boy with glasses jump out of a chair that had been blocking him from view. "What the hell is wrong with you!" he caught me just before I hit the ground.

"Are you crazy, Alex, she's another angel" The blond boy dressed as a girl said before I passed out.

When I woke again I was still in the computer room. The boy who had caught me was sitting next to me. "I um, brought you a change of clothes." He placed a bag in front of me. Before he got up and went out the door. "I'll be back with some food." he shut the door and his foot steps echoed as he walked down the hall.

Inside the bag I found another school uniform, but this one was different. It had a white shirt and a blue skirt. "Better" I mumbled before putting it on. So I had died three time total now. Everyone here had died at least once. My brother, Misha, was here, but he had attacked me. The blue haired girl attacked me as well and the blond was ok with it, but the boy defended me. He gave me a change of clothes and said he would bring me food. I still wanted to be alone, but maybe I could be alone with him. He seemed to be alright, better than the others at least.

When he came back he was carrying a tack out box and had taken of his glasses. He set the box in my lap "Careful, its spicy, but all they had, hope its ok"

I gave him a smile "You don't have to apologize for something didn't ask for" I took a bite "Besides, its good" There was a moment of awkward silence before I asked "Who are you?"

"Oh, my name is Alex, and you are?"

"Kana" I answered softly.

"You said the angel was you're brother, are you an angel too?"

"No, and he isn't either, he's human, like us. His name is Misha"

Alex looked confused "Human like us... then why does he attack us?"

I shrugged " I don't know. He didn't even recognize me... So um, who were the others?"

"The blond is Tami, he'll probably be in a males uniform tomorrow, so don't get confused. And the girl who shot you... he name is Rem... I would suggest staying away from her for a bit, she's a bit pissed that you turned out to be human."

I had so many other questions, but did not want to bother him, so we sat in silence until he returned to whatever he had been doing on the computer before I had woken earlier.


	5. Band

Alex  
I never really liked the computer room until she showed up. Sure it was quiet and out of the way which is why I spent time there. That and they wanted me monitoring the computers at all times. Why I did not like it was the fact that no one came down here unless they needed something from me. I felt like I was more of a tool than a friend to them. Kana was different. Sure, I wasn't her friend yet, but she didn't use me. She never asked anything of me and whenever I did something for her she looked surprised. It made me happy to know that small things could better her time in this world.

Sadly, she disappeared a few days ago. It must be that Rem's distrust finally got to her. I don't blame her. It would be hard for me too, if someone constantly treated me as if I were going to kill them at any moment. Still, I hated the quietness. She rarely talked and yet the silence seemed so much louder to me now than it had before.

Alex!" The door slammed open with a very loud thud that sent me flying out of my chair and into the keyboard. My reading glasses fell off my face onto the desk. "Are you sure you're a boy?" She asked as she leaned against the door, arms crossed.

"What the hell!?" I could feel anger welling inside me. How could she possibly think that was an ok subject!? "Of course I'm sure!" My fists were clenched.

Rem laughed "Sensitive much?" She unfolded her arms as she walked slowly up to me to pat my cheek. "Just like a girl"

"Shut up!" I tried to yell, but my voice cracked instead. emCalm down, she won't let it go if you let her know it bothers you. /em"What's this about anyway?" I said in a forced calm tone.

"Weeelllllll" Rem placed an arm on my shoulder, giving me a mischievous grin. "You're the only other one here who can pass as a girl."

"And you need me to be a girl for what?" I already knew I wouldn't do it.

"Apparently the last group that came through this world" She had an oddly documentarist like tone to her voice. "Had this band, Girls Dead Monster, which acted as at distraction for the angel. All the members were girls so I think the angel is more attracted to females or something. Anyways, it would just be you and Tami while I go and investigate the angel's room."

I could feel the sweat drop they have in cartoons for people who just heard an idiotic idea roll down the back of my head "And why can't it be you instead, since you're actually a girl?"

She slapped me across the face "Because you boys are complete idiots."

I turned away from her as I rubbed the red spot that was forming where she had hit me. "And that's why I'm the only one capable of understanding the NPC program."

"Man, that really hurt. Are you sure you're a girl? Girls aren't this mean"

Suddenly I was on the ground with a fair amount of weight on my back. Rem grabbed my arms by the wrists and pulled them up further than they were supposed to go. "Ow ow ow!" she pulled harder. "OW! OK OK! I'LL DO IT IF YOU STOP TORTURING ME!"

She let go, "That's better." Then she lifted me up and swung me over her shoulder. Secretly I was impressed. She was quite strong for her size. "Let's get you fitted. You'll be on drums, Tami can play the guitar. I'll make a recording for the vocals."

"I flailed slightly as she carried me up into the principals office that had been made into the battlefront's headquarters, even though I knew that at this point fighting it would get me nowhere. It wasn't long until she had me in a girl's uniform and had added a bow to my hair. She then sat me in a chair, opening up a bag "What are you doing" I was sure I wouldn't like it.

She opened a mascara tube "Just sit still"

I pushed the horrid thing away from me "No way!"

"But you'll look better onstage with it."

I stood up "I don't want to do this!" I ran out of the room and around the corner. I collided with a small person and opened my eyes to see purple hair. It was Kana. Her cheeks were a bit pink put I'm sure my face was bright red. All I could do was scream as I tried to run, but she pushed me to the ground and sat on me.

"What did you do to him?" She asked, looking up at Rem who had apparently followed me.

"Getting him ready for the band of course."

"Oh... that sounds fun, can I join..."

Rem did not look so pleased, but to be honest we kind of needed her for Rem's plan to work. "We need a vocalist, so sure" I said with a trembling voice before Rem could answer.

Before I knew it I had blacked out. Rem really is too violent to be a girl.


End file.
